Attitudes to Immigration in Scotland 2026: Growing polarisation, hardening views
The fourth wave of our annual representative survey of public attitudes to immigration in Scotland finds views becoming more restrictive, a hardening on both sides of the debate, and social contact emerging as a key dividing factor.
The 2026 survey at a glance
- 64% of people with social contact with immigrants support increasing skilled worker migration Compared with 46% of those with no contact
- 63% of those with social contact see immigration's impact on Scotland as positive Versus 37% of those without
- 2,161 respondents to the February 2026 survey Via Diffley Partnership's ScotPulse panel
- 4th wave of the annual survey Tracking attitudes since 2023
Each February we ask a representative sample of adults in Scotland what they think about immigration: how much there should be, what impact it has, and how policy should respond. The 2026 survey is the fourth wave, giving us four years of directly comparable data. The charts below track the headline trends from 2023 to 2026.
Key findings
- Attitudes have become more restrictive. This continues a trend apparent since 2024. As in previous years, however, views are less restrictive where questions are couched in more specific terms.
- Views are hardening on both sides. The overall drift towards greater restriction masks a hardening of views on both sides of the immigration debate, suggesting fewer people hold nuanced or uncertain views open to persuasion in either direction.
- Social contact is a key factor. There is a clear relationship between the extent of social contact people have with immigrants living in Scotland and their views across a whole range of questions. Those with no social contact are much more likely to hold negative or restrictive views, though this should not be read as a simple causal relationship.
- Views strongly correlate with voting behaviour, demonstrating the more intense political contestability of immigration in Scotland. Views divide broadly along a growing left-right split, with Reform UK voters often expressing significantly more negative views than supporters of any other party.
The survey was carried out between 1 and 4 February 2026 through Diffley Partnership’s ScotPulse panel (2,161 respondents). Report authors: Sarah Kyambi and Rebecca Kay.
Read the full report
The full 2026 report, with complete analysis and commentary from report authors Sarah Kyambi and Rebecca Kay, is available to download now.